Recommended Budget

Welcome to the Mariposa County Budget Page. Here you can find information about the County’s current and past budgets and how county services are funded. The County’s current (2018-19) General Fund Budget totals $62.3 million.

General Fund

The Fund is supported by $33.6 million in general purpose revenue that is at the discretion of the Board for purposes with general benefit. The balance of $28.7 million in non-discretionary revenues are designated for a specific purpose, often program-specific items funded by state or federal dollars that the County administrates.

A substantial share of the discretionary portion of Mariposa County’s budget is funded by its “Transient Occupancy Tax”, a levy charged to travelers when they rent accommodations from a hotel, inn or other short term lodging. This fee accounts for 43% of the funds supporting key services including sheriff, fire, public works, parks and recreation others.

Low Debt Load

Our County has a debt load that is among the lowest in the state and continues to maintain a budget reserve and conservative investments to stretch every dollar. Our County is a leader in fiscal responsibility, but there are significant challenges ahead the community should know about.

What are the Key Financial Challenges Facing the County?

Natural Disasters

The last year and a half has included multiple natural disasters that rank among the worst in our county’s history. We have received more than $20 million in state and federal aid to respond and recover from these disasters. Even with state aid, however, the March 2018 storms are approaching $500,000 in direct costs to the county. The February 2017 storm damage, which qualified for federal aid, has still not all been approved at appropriate levels for work to begin.

With the growing frequency and intensity of disasters around California and our nation, we cannot assume the same levels of aid will always be available. Any one of the major disasters mentioned above could have completely wiped out the County's reserve of nearly $2.9 million. We need to do more to build sustainable reserves for whatever lies ahead.

Public Safety

The County is extremely grateful for our volunteer firefighters. They demonstrate extraordinary dedication to their community every time they suit up and respond to a fire or a medical emergency. Unfortunately, we do not have enough volunteers to keep up with frequency of disasters around the County.

The Sheriff's Department would also like funds to support substations in Coulterville and possibly other locations around the county, school resource officers, bike patrols for downtown areas, additional search and rescue resources, and other priorities.

Road Maintenance

Even beyond significant storm damage, our County has $60 - $100 million in unfunded road maintenance needs. A 2011 study commissioned by the California State Association of Counties found Mariposa’s pavement conditions among the lowest in the state, behind Alpine, Tuolumne, Mono and Madera.

Housing

Many have cited the need for workforce housing, but the County does not have dedicated staff to advance housing objectives for our residents. A study commissioned by the County and presented to the Board last month examined some of the unique challenges we face with respect to housing including high constructions costs, lack of sufficient infrastructure to support new residential development, land use and zoning updates needed to keep pace with state law, and others.

Parks and Recreation

Mariposa County has only one-ninth of the park space recommended for our population. Ballfields and a potential recreation center, both initiated nearly 20 years ago, have not been built for lack of funding. There are other opportunities for trails and recreation that have also been postponed due, in full or in part, to funding concerns.

Economic Development

We have a lot of wonderful businesses in our community. There is more we can and would like to be doing to support the businesses we have and bring more good jobs to all areas of Mariposa County.